Humidifier



J. I. HAYNES.

HUMIDIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED 02c. 20. 191B.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

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Mute/1m J. I. HAYNES.

HUMIDlFlER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.20. I9l8.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. l. HAYNES.

HUMIDIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED Dc.20. 191s.

Patented Feb. 8,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN I. HAYNES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

HUMIDIFIER.

To all whom it may concern." 1

Be it known that I, JOHN I. HAYNES, a

citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Humidifiers,

of relatively great area over which air circulates and absorbs moisture.

Another object is to provide a humidifier which is so constructed that it can be used in conjunction with a small electric house fan for causing the air in a room or building to circulate back and forth over a means that supplies sufficient moisture to said air to maintain the air in a room or building in a humid condition.

Another'object is to provide an ciiicient and inexpensive humidifier of simple design that requires practically no attention to keep it in operativecondition. Other objects and desirable features of my invention.

will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure l of the drawings is a vertical lon gitudinal sectional view of my improved humidifier.

Fig. 2 is a rear end elevational view of said humidifier, partly in vertical transverse section.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the humidifier with the water supply tank removed.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the portion of the humidifier through which the air circulates.

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail sectional views, showing two different ways of arranging the fabric that supplies moisture to the air which circulates through the humidifier.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the longitudinal partition plates over which the moisture supplying fabric is arranged.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 20, 1918. Serial No. 267,624.

Briefly described, my improved humidifier consists of av chamber whose interior is divided into a tortuous passageway or plurality of passageways through which air circulates and means for supplying moisture to the air that circulates. through saidchamher. The moisture supplying means preferably consists of fabric of any suitable character that is arranged in the passageway or passageways through which the air circulates'and means for supplying water to said fabric, preferably by capillary attraction. It is immaterial, however, so far as my broad idea is concerned, what means is employed for supplying moisture to the fabric in the passageway or passageways through which the air circulates, so long as said means is of such a character that it will maintain said fabric in a moist condition. The device which causes the air to circulate through the humidifier can be operated in any preferred manner and it can either be permanently combined with the humidifier so that it forms an integral part of same, or it can consist of a separate and distinct device that is arranged in operative position with relation to the humidifier when it is desired to put the humidifier in use. I prefer, however, to construct the humidifier in such a manner that it can be used in conjunction with an ordinary electric house fan by simply reversing the direction of rotation of the fan or providing the fan with blades of such a character that the fan will suck air inwardly through the humidifier and then discharge the moistened air into the surrounding atmosphere.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates a casingor housing, preferably of rectangular form, that is provided at its front end with an air inlet opentuous passageway or plurality of passageways, and means 1s provided for supplying moisture to the air that circulates through said passageway or passageways.

In the form of my invention herein shown the in terior of the casing A is divided into a number of connectin passageways by means of partition plates B of the form shown in Fig.

that extend longitudinally of said casing, and transversely-disposed partition members (J and C that are arranged at the rear and front ends of the partition plates B. The,

transverse partition member C that is arranged adjacent the rear end of the casing opposite the discharge opening 2 is provided adjacent its ends with air openings 3, as shown in Fig. 9, and the transyerse partition member C that is arranged ad acent the front end of the casing opposite the air inlet opening 1 is provided at approximately its center with a plurality of air openings 4 arranged one above the other in a similar manner to the air openings 3 in the partition member C Each longitudinal partition plate B is provided at one end with air openlnfi. 5, and said longitudinal partition plates are so arranged 1n the casing A that the openings 5 in said plates are staggered. In other words, one-half of the longitudinal partition plates B are provided adjacent their front ends with air openings 5 and the remaining partition plates B are provided at their rear ends with air openings 5, and said plates are so arranged that the air that is drawn inwardly through the openings in the front partition member C will flow between the center pair of longitudinal partition plates B and then divide and flow back and forth between the other longitudinal partition plates and finally escape through the openings 3 in the rear transverse partition member 0, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4c. The partition plates B are preferably mounted in the casing A in such a manner that they can be withdrawn upwardly through slots in the top of the casing A, and in the form of my invention herein shown the transverse partition members C and C are provided with vertically-disposed grooves 6, as shown in Fig. 9, in which the end portions of the partition plates are slidingly mounted, the members C and C being permanently connected to the casing and spaced inwardly some distance from the rear and front walls of the casing, as shown in Fig. 4.

Moisture is supplied to the air that circulates back and forth between the partition plates B by means of fabric D that covers the longitudinal partition plates B and to which water is supplied by capillary attraction from a water reservoir arranged in proximity to the slots in the top wall of the casing A through which the partition plates B project. As shown in Fig. 3, the top of the casing A is so formed that it constitutes a water reservoir E that is adapted to contain water or, as shown in Fig. 1. The bottom of the reservoir E is provided with fabric can either consist of a long stri that and covers the sides of the partition plates dips into the longitudinal troughs between the upper edge portions of said plates, as shown in Fig. 5, or each partition plate B can be provided with a separate fabric envelop D provided at its upper edge with flaps D that project downwardly into the longitudinal water trou hs in the reservoir E, as shown in Fig. 6. 0 long as the reservoir E contains water, the fabric covering of the partition plates B will remain moist, due to capillary attraction.

When a long strip of fabric D is used as shown in Fig. 5, said strip is arranged transversely of the reservoir and the partition plates B are then forced downwardly into the slots in the bottom of said reservoir, thus causing the fabric to be arranged over the sides of the longitudinal partition plates and also partially immersed in the longitudinal troughs between the upper edge portions of the partition plates B, as shown in Fig. 5, it being, of course, understood that the strip of fabric D is positioned in the manner above described before the water supply tank hereinafter referred to is arranged in operative position. When the partition plates B are provided with separate fabric envelops D, as shown in Fig. 6, said envelops are slipped over the partition plates before said partition plates are arranged in operative position in the casing A. The fabric covering of the partition plates B, whether it be in the form of a long strip or separate enyelops, is so proportioned that it willlndt cover the holes 5 in said partitionj plates through which the air circulates, this being illustrated more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

In order that the air will contact with both surfaces of each layer of fabric, the partition plates B are so constructed that the air can travel between the partition plates and the fabric, as well as between the outer surfaces of the adjacent layers of fabric, this being preferably accomplished by providing the partition plates with horizontally-disposed ribs or corrugations 10 that extend longitudinally of the partition plates, as shown in Fig. 7. The partition plates B are also so formed that portions at the upper edges of same will clamp the fabric against the side walls of the slots 3/ up through which said partition plates project, thereby preventing the air in the easing A from escaping upwardly through the slots g in the reservoir E. This can be accomplished in various ways, such, for example, as providing each partition plate B with a longitudinally-disposed clamping portion 11 adjacent the upper edge of same that presses the fabric against the side walls of the slot in the bottom of the reservoir E through which said partition plate projects. I prefer to arrange air deflector plates F in the casing A between the layers of fabric that cover the partition plates B, so as to cause the air to be projected against said fabric in traveling through the casing A. Said air deflector plates F are arranged in grooves or guideways 6 in the transverse partition Inembers C and G, and they are provided with vertically-disposed ribs or corrugations 12 and with air holes 13 arranged adjacent the ends of same, as shown in Fig. 8. When the air is traveling through the humidifier the deflector plates F. due to the sinuous cross-sectional shape of same, cause the air to be deflected against the fabric that supplies moisture to the air. Water can be introduced into the reservoir E manually from time to time, or means can 'be provided for automatically supplying water to said reservoir. I prefer to construct the humidifier in the manner last mentioned, so as to overcome the necessity of examining it frequently to ascertain if the reservoir E contains sufficient waterto supply moisture to the air that is drawn through the humidifier. Any suitable means can be used for automatically supplying water to the reservoir E, but I prefer to equip the humidifier with a water supply tank G which is so constructed and arranged that water will escape from same automatically into the reservoir E when the water in said reservoir drops below a certain level. The particular location of said water supply tank is immaterial, but it is preferable to mount it directly over the reservoir E so as to produce a humidifier of symmetrical form in which the water supply tank G serves as a cover for the water reservoir E. In the form of my in vention herein shown the Water supply tank G is of rectangular form and is provided at its lower edge with a depending flange 14, as shown in Fig. 1, that can be slipped downwardly over the rim at the outer edge of the reservoir E. The reservoir E is also so constructed that it can he slipped downwardly over a flange 15 at the upper end of the casing A, thereby enabling the parts of the humidifier to be assembled and disassembled easily. The tank G is provided with a filling opening that is normally closed by an air-tight closure 16, and the bot-tom of sa id tank is provided with a depending portion 17 that ]projects downwardly into the reservoir as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A discharge opening 18 is E drops sufficiently to uncover, or partially uncover, the dischar e opening 18, air will flow into the tank through the opening 18, and thus permit sufficient water to escape from said tank through the discharge opening 18 to raise the level of the water in the reservoir E high enough to cover the discharge opening ,18 of the water supply tank. If desired,-" the tank G can be provided with a valve v19 controlled by a rod 20 or other suitable device so as to close the discharge opening 18, in case it is desired to cut off the supply of water from the tank G to the reservoir E. Air holes 21 are formed in the depending flange 14 of the .water supply tank, so as to supply air to the water reservoir E.

Any suitable means can be used for causing air to circulate through the humidifier, said means either consisting of a suction device or a pressure device. Furthermore, said means can constitute an integral part of the humidifier, or it can consist of a separate and distinct device having no direct connection with the humidifier, but capable of being arranged in proximity to the casing A of the humidifier when it is desired to put the humidifier in use. I prefer to construct the humidifier in such a manner that it can be used in conjunction with an ordinary electric house fan H by simply reversing the direction of rotation of said fan or mounting a suction fan 22 on the drive shaft of the motor of the fan H. The fan 22 is arranged inside of a fan housing 23 and it is provided at one side with an inlet 2 1 and at its upper end with an outlet 25, said inlet projecting inwardly through a hole in cap 26 mounted on a flange 27 that surrounds the discharge opening in the end wall of the casing A, as shown in Fig. 1. When the fan is in operation air will be drawn through the casing A, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4, and then discharged into the surrounding atmosphere through the discharge opening 25 of the fan housing 23. If desired, the humidifier can be provided with a screen I for removing dirt or impurities from the air that is drawn through the humidifier, said screen I being removably mounted on a flange 28 on the front wall of the casing A that surrounds the air inlet opening 1 in the casing.

In order that the humidifier may be used it into alinement with the intake 24 of the fan housing/ It will thus be seen that by rotating the cap 26 the humidifierecan be so adjusted that it will cooperate with various sized electric house hans. ll prefer to use an ordinary house fan for drawing the air through the humidifier, it is not absolutely essential that the suction device be a house fan, for, if desired, an ordinary portable vacuum cleaner of the kind now generally used in homes can be used in conjunction with 'the humidifier.

Therefore, I have provided the rear end wall of the casing A with a hole 30 of sufficient size to receive the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner, said hole being normally closed by a removable cover 31, as shown in Fig 1.

A humidifier of the construction above described will keep the air in a building in a humid condition without any care or attention on the part of an operator or attendant, except to fill the water tank G occasionally; it is so small and compact that it can be transported easily from place to place, and furthermore, it takes up very little space. Although it is small, it has a high degree of efiiciency, owing to the fact that it comprises a long, tortuous passageway through which the air circulates in direct contact with a moisture supplying substance of relatively great area. In fact, a humidifier constructed. in accordance with my invention and provided with a casing about 12 square contains approximately 4,320 square inches of fabric for supplying moisture to the air that is drawn through the casing. Such a humidifier can be manufactuered at a low cost; the fabric that supplies moisture to the air can be quickly removed and cleaned; and still another desirable feature of such a humidifier is that it can be used with an ordinary electric fan such as most homes are equipped with.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A'humidifier, comprising a casing pro- VVhile in said casing constructed and arranged so that they form a plurality of connecting passageways that extend longitudinally of the casing and through which the air circulates in opposite directions, a moisture supplying substance combined with said plates, and deflector plates arranged between said partition plates for directing the air against the moisture supplying substance on said partition plates.

3. A humidifier, comprising a casing provided with an air inlet opening and an air discharge opening, parallel partition plates arranged in said, casing and provided with horizontally-disposed ribs or corrugations, fabric coverings for said plates to which moisture is supplied, and deflector plates arranged between said partition plates and provided with vertically-disposed corrugations.

4. A humidifier, comprising a casing through which air circulates, a water reservoir at the upper end of said casing provided in its bottom with a plurality of slots, each of which is surrounded by an upwardly-projecting flange, partition plates removably mounted in said casing. and projecting upwardly through said slots, and fabric coverings for said partition plates provided with extensions that dip down into the water in said troughs.

5. A humidifier, comprising a casing through. which air circulates, means for supplying moisture to the air that flows through said casing, and an adjustable member on said casing provided with an opening for receiving the intake portion of a fan housing.

6. A humidifier, comprising a casing through which air circulates, means for supplying moisture to the air that flows through said casing, and an adjustable member on said casing provided with an eccentricallydisposed opening that is adapted to receive the intake of a suction fan.

JOHN I. HAYNES. 

